


Spread Your (Paper)Wings

by Burning_Nightingale



Category: Old Kingdom - Garth Nix
Genre: Backstory, Best Friends, Friendship, Gen, OC, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-22
Updated: 2013-09-22
Packaged: 2017-12-27 09:14:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/977044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burning_Nightingale/pseuds/Burning_Nightingale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story told with the voice of a forgotten minority; this is the tale of Errigan, a male Clayr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spread Your (Paper)Wings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ivy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivy/gifts).



> This was written for the Exchange At Fic Corner 2013, for ivy. Hope you enjoy it!

The morning routine had just begun in the Paperwing hangar when Flight Leader Kasar approached Errigan. He straightened his shoulders and stood to attention when she reached him, attempting not to stare at the two girls in blue tunics who followed her. "Errigan," she greeted him with a brisk nod. "Busy morning?"

"Shaping up to be, Flight Leader," Errigan told her.

"Splendid, splendid." Kasar glanced around once, nodded to herself, and then motioned the two girls behind her to come forward. "You haven't been Seen gaining the Sight yet, have you Errigan?"

She knew full well that he hadn't, but he couldn't point that out to her. "No, Flight Leader."

"Well, you'll be just perfect for my task." She indicated the two girls. "These two are Sanar and Ryelle. They haven't gained the Sight yet either, so instead of leaving them languishing around with nothing to do it has been decided they will join a Paperwing flight."

Errigan nodded. He had been in a similar position two years ago when he signed up to the Paperwing flight, though as a male Clayr it was more expected of him to do something other than wait around for his time to acquire the Sight. The Clayr were generally of the opinion that if a male Clayr hadn't gained the Sight by twelve years old, there was little chance of it appearing. Errigan was now nineteen.

"I am to supervise them?" he asked, guessing the Flight Leader's intention.

"Show them the ropes and such," Kasar agreed, "They have been learning the Marks for flight, and I'll be supervising their learning in that area, but I need someone like you to teach them the routine of what goes on around here."

Errigan nodded, and chanced a smile at the two girls. They smiled back in unison, and it was only with this first proper look at them that he realized they were twins. "I'd be happy to help," he said.

Kasar left the girls with him, so he decided a tour of the hangar would be a good first step. "I'm sure you've been up here before, but some areas are closed to normal Clayr," he explained as they walked up the main floor of the hangar. "We store all the Paperwings here in the main room, as you can see. The door at the end opens when Paperwings need to come in or out; it leads onto the terrace, where I imagine you've been before. Through that door," he pointed to the left, "There's a mess room for members of the flights to have meals and relax off duty. In here," he led them towards another door and opened it, stepping back to let them in first, "is the construction and repair room."

The open space was crowded by rows of racks that lined the walls all the way to the ceiling. They were made to hold many Paperwings, but only a minimal number were being stored there now. "These are the broken ones," one of the twins said. Errigan was embarrassed that he couldn't tell which twin it was. He nodded.

"There aren't many," the other twin observed.

"The Repair Master is quite diligent," he said. "She doesn't let the Paperwings linger here for long."

"And they construct new Paperwings here as well?" the first twin asked.

"Occasionally," Errigan nodded. "That's a much harder task, though."

"I've read about it," she said, turning to face him. "It sounds fascinating, but there were many complicated and powerful marks indicated in the instructions..."

"Otherwise Ryelle would have tried it for herself," her sister laughed.

Ryelle looked slightly embarrassed. "Of course I wouldn't," she said, "Where would I get the materials, anyway?"

"The Paperwings here are made by specially trained experts," Errigan told them. "The apprenticeship is long, but the Paperwing Builders are very well respected. So few people actually manage to finish the training."

"It's good to keep the teaching alive," the other twin - Sanar, Errigan reminded himself - said. "It's an important skill that shouldn't be lost."

"Exactly," Errigan agreed. The twins both smiled at him, and he decided he liked them already. "Now, let's go back to the mess hall. We need to introduce you to everyone else!"

/

They'd been let out at dawn to fly surveillance over the mountain, and for the first time the deputy Flight Leader said they could go without elder supervision. "You're old enough now to look after them I think, Errigan," she'd said. "And you two are probably my best students. But be careful. And I'm giving you my trust, so don't abuse it and do something silly."

They flew in a triangle formation with Errigan taking point, and flew two loops over the twin peaks. Sanar was on the left, and it gave her a clear view of the terrace and the opening into the Clayr’s mountain. It was a beautiful day, and she suspected she wasn’t the only one giving more thought to the view than to scanning for approaching enemies or other dangers.

When they were on the other side of the mountain, out of view of the hangar, Sanar heard Ryelle’s whistles change, and her sister’s Paperwing soared out of the formation to zip under hers and come back up close on the other side. As she swerved out of the way she could hear her sister laughing. Ryelle directed her Paperwing upward and then let it hang there. Sanar dipped her Paperwing and circled, making to come back up, while Errigan circled around higher and whizzed over Ryelle’s head once before coming back around.

They met at almost exactly the same moment, all hanging in the air together. “And I thought we weren’t supposed to mess around?” Errigan shouted, his voice hard to hear over the wind.

“Don’t be a spoilsport, Errigan!” Ryelle yelled back. “Let’s have a race!”

Sanar thought she could see Errigan rolling his eyes, but instead of listening to the voice of reason she shouted, “I’m in!”

“From that crag,” Ryelle pointed exaggeratedly over her shoulder to a chunk of rock that stood out from the mountainside near them, “up to that peak.” She indicated a peak slightly above them and a little further away, but still concealed behind the bulk of Starmount.

“You’re on!” Sanar yelled, and whirled her Paperwing. Ryelle followed suit, and Sanar could imagine the sigh Errigan would give as he followed. Their best friend in the Glacier outside of each other, Errigan was four years older than them and liked to act like the responsible one, but he had an adventurous streak in him, just like them. And he was one of the only people near their age who could match them in a Paperwing, so they’d raced a lot during the almost a year they’d known each other.

Sanar drew level with the crag first and turned her Paperwing, letting it rest on an air current. Ryelle reached her swiftly and harangued Errigan for being slow as he reached them. “I’m the nominal Flight Leader here, I could put a swift end to this!” he yelled back at her, but then Sanar held up a hand and brought it swiftly down, whistling marks for speed as she did so, and the race began.

Sanar had a head start because of the liberty she took starting the race, but Ryelle caught up. Errigan trailed a little, but he wasn’t far. If either of them made a mistake he could swiftly overtake. An unexpected air current hit Ryelle’s Paperwing from the side halfway across and slowed her, and Sanar shot ahead. She regained her speed quickly, but now she and Errigan were fighting for air space in the most direct route to the other peak. Neither of them came close to Sanar’s lead, though, and she finished comfortably first.

As they reformed the arrowhead formation Ryelle and Errigan were still arguing about who had come second and third. Sanar privately thought it had been Errigan, but she wasn’t about to get between those two and one of their arguments. They subsided when they came in sight of the terrace, and the ride back was calm and peaceful. Their landing sent fountains of snow swirling upward, and they heard Flight Leader Kasar’s voice yell, “Too flashy as usual!” from somewhere inside the hangar.

When they made it inside, something unexpected was waiting for them. The Voice of the Nine Day Watch, a familiar figure (though Sanar could not quite remember her name), was standing in the middle of the Paperwing hangar. Many of the Flight members had gathered around her, and they all turned to smile when Sanar and Ryelle entered. “Here they are,” the Voice announced in a ringing tone. She tapped the small gong she was carrying and then intoned, “Know one, know many. The Nine Day Watch with great gladness announce that the Gift of Sight has Awoken in our sisters Sanar and Ryelle.”

Sanar blinked. The other flight members began clapping, a few of the younger ones gave them a cheer, and everyone was smiling. She slowly blinked again and turned to face the equally shocked face of her sister. _I thought it would never happen,_ was the thought in her mind, and she could see the same mirrored on Ryelle’s face.

Then everyone crowded forward to congratulate them, and Sanar found that as the shock wore off, happiness and excitement started to well up within her, almost to the point where she felt unable to control the emotions. Many of the other flight members gave her a hug or a handshake, and she spent a few long seconds giving her sister a tight hug in which Ryelle whispered, “Finally!” and Sanar laughed.

Then Errigan was there, beaming from ear to ear, and they both hugged him at once. When they pulled back he gave them a push toward the door that led back down into the Glacier. “You had better go get ready. I’ll see to your Paperwings, don’t worry.”

Sanar thought about protesting for a moment; putting away all three would be a lot of work, and Errigan might not make it to the ceremony. But he was right, they did need to get ready. She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Alright, but you had better make sure you’re in time to see us crowned!” she said warningly, wagging a finger at him. “I’ll be looking for you, so make sure you aren’t late!”

He laughed and gave them another push. “You forget how long I’ve been doing this! Usually I’m the one waiting for you!”

Ryelle aimed a playful smack at him which he ducked expertly, and then, laughing loudly, they ran towards the doors down to the Glacier.

Errigan watched them go for a second, the smile dropping slightly on his face, but then he shook himself and jogged back towards where they had left their Paperwings.

/

He’d seen the twins’ ceremony from a distance, watched as they walked up the long aisle, received their crowns of moonstones from the Nine Day Watch. Now a large crowd had gathered in the Refectory and everyone was celebrating.

There were only two other male Clayr anywhere near his age in the Glacier. Most had already left to begin lives elsewhere, but the tales told by the travellers they received here had made Errigan’s mother too anxious to let him leave and begin forging a new life for himself. He knew he could leave if he wanted to, but it would mean a nasty fight with his mother, and though he found it hard to admit to himself, he was nervous about leaving the safety and protection of the Clayr for the unknown lands beyond.

He wandered over to the table where the two other male Clayr were sitting alone, chatting about something in low voices. When he arrived, they looked up and one smiled smugly. “Guess what,” he said in a hushed tone, “Traven is thinking about leaving the Glacier.”

Errigan turned to the other boy, Traven, who nodded. “It’s long past time we _all_ left,” he said, looking meaningfully at Errigan. “We should set out together. It’ll be safer if all three of us travel together.”

Errigan glanced instinctively over to where his mother sat. “Has your mother agreed?”

Traven snorted. “I don’t need my mother’s approval. I’m of age now, I’m my own person. I can make my own decisions.”

“And you, Raketh?”

The other boy shifted uncomfortably. “My mother will hate it. But what’s left for us here? None of us will gain the Sight, and the older we get, the more of a laughing stock we become.”

“Unless Errigan here is angling for a sweeter prize than exile,” Traven winked, and then gave a meaningful nod over to where two identical figures sat in pride of place on the High Table.

Errigan snorted. “We’re good friends, but those two will have strong Sight. I’ll be surprised if they can even focus on anything else for years.” He paused and cast his friends a look. “Maybe, if they had had to wait longer, something could have happened.” He shook his head, “But I’m not prepared to wait here on the off chance one of my best friends will fall in love with me, no matter how pretty either of them are.”

Traven laughed. “You’re in, then?”

Errigan stuck out a hand and Traven laid his on top. After a split second of hesitation, Raketh laid his hand over both of theirs.

“To our pact of brotherhood,” Traven said grandly, and Errigan laughed.

/

Errigan had not had time to tell anyone about his preparations when there was a lot of excitement about something the Watch were Seeing. More and more people were called in, and Sanar and Ryelle were often called away for training. He saw little of them, and missed them, but he too was busy preparing for his journey with Raketh and Traven.

Traven had an uncle who lived in Belisaere who he assured them could get them started in a profession, and provide them with somewhere to live most likely, if they didn’t mind sleeping with the rats under the stairs. It would be a far cry from their current life of comfort, but it would be a new start. It would be freedom.

Errigan almost didn’t notice the crescendo of alarm and activity in the Glacier until Flight Leader Kasar tapped him on the shoulder one morning and told him, “Help Sanar and Ryelle see to their Paperwings, Errigan.”

Errigan nodded. “Mine is ready as well, if you want me to accompany them.”

Kasar looked at him like he’d grown another head. “Why on earth would you accompany them? I’m already uncomfortable about them going in the first place.”

“But we go scouting around the mountain all the time,” Errigan said, confused.

“Honestly.” Kasar tapped him in the middle of his forehead. “Do you listen to no news? The twins are going to Belisaere.”

Errigan felt his stomach lurch. “Belisaere?” he echoed. “Alone?”

Kasar nodded. “And before you ask, no, you may not go with them. They have been entrusted with this job and they will do it alone, as the Watch sees fit.”

Errigan wanted to protest more, but Kasar’s expression told him that would not be a good idea.

On the other side of the hangar, Sanar and Ryelle were talking in low voices. They stopped when he came over, and they all stood staring at each other for a few moments. “We’ll be careful,” Sanar said after the pause.

“We’re better fliers than you anyway,” Ryelle said, flicking her hair, but the gesture felt more affected than her usual easiness.

“It’s not the flying I’m worried about,” Errigan muttered.

Unexpectedly, they both stepped forward and enveloped him in a hug. “We _will_ be careful, Erri,” Sanar said softly.

“We’ll find the King and the Abhorsen and come straight back, promise,” Ryelle said.

He leaned back and looked at them, shocked. The King and the Abhorsen? He really had been in his own little world if the _King_ had returned and he had not heard about it. But he said nothing; he leaned forward again and gave both of them a tight squeeze. “I suppose you had better get going, then, hmm?”

They smiled at each other, one more shared moment before they parted. The twins hopped into their Paperwings, which Errigan only then realized had been perfectly ready to go. He glanced around for Kasar, but didn’t see her anywhere. He knew her intentions, however.

The twins began to whistle as he ran to open the door for them. They started the Paperwings at a low skim, controlled and slow, to get them out of the hangar and onto the terrace. Then a Charter-spelled gust caught them and they were gone, whizzing up into the bright blue sky. Errigan saw two arms waving, and then only the bright colours of the receding craft as they turned eastward and disappeared behind the mountains.

/

The twins were so full of energy when they came back, they seemed to literally bounce from their Paperwings. They hugged him quickly, one at a time, before pulling back and launching straight into a discussion of what had transpired.

He hadn’t had time to get even half of the story before the girls were hustled off to report to the higher Clayr and he was left alone. However, a knock on his door shortly after he returned from the evening meal signalled their arrival, and the tale was told in full.

“I thought the King was _dying_ when he fell over like that,” Ryelle said, expressively waving her arms. “He just _keeled over_. Good thing Sanar had the sense to kneel down and start healing him. I didn’t even know what to do! And I barely noticed until then that the Abhorsen was hurt.”

“What’s she like?” Errigan asked. “The new Abhorsen?”

The twins looked at each other, and then shrugged as one. “Nice enough,” Sanar said.

“Is that all?” Errigan asked incredulously.

“Well, we only saw her for a few minutes!” Ryelle said hotly. “And for most of that time we were showing her Clayr things.”

“Delivering our message,” Sanar corrected, “But she seemed nice enough. Determined, too.”

Errigan nodded. “Good. She sounds…good.”

“And here you were mocking me for my lack of description!” Ryelle exclaimed.

“Well I didn’t meet the woman!”

/

It was only a few short weeks later that Errigan was riding with the Clayr contingent through the gates of Belisaere. The city was still largely unsafe, but a deal of work was apparently being planned to rebuild the city once the Dead still lingering there had been removed. That task, of course, was a job for the Abhorsen alone.

They were going to meet her again, Sanar and Ryelle had nervously confided in him, and the King too. They were almost overflowing with excitement, though they had gotten better over recent years at hiding it. He was sure he was one of the few who could tell that they weren’t as calm and collected as the outward image they liked to project.

He, on the other hand, was just accompanying the group because it was safer to travel in numbers. Once they were well within the city, Sanar and Ryelle would go with the other Clayr to the noble’s house where the King and the Abhorsen were staying, and Errigan would accompany Traven and Raketh to Traven’s uncle’s house, where they would be staying for the foreseeable future.

The twins had begged him not to leave so soon, had said they could find accommodation for him where they stayed, but he had declined. Instead, he had asked another favour.

“Ask the King about his guards,” he had told them, one night when they were sitting on one side of the circle around the camping fire, relatively alone. “He’ll be needing them, and it seems a good profession to join. Something I’d be interested in, somewhere I could use my skills with a sword and as a Charter Mage, rather than turning my hand to joinery or whatever other mundane craft Traven’s uncle will be able to place us in.”

They had agreed, and as Errigan rode in through the streets of the city, he felt optimistic. The dark times were over. There would be a King on the throne again, Belisaere and the Old Kingdom would be restored to their former glory, and if he could help it, he would be there to see every step of the way. 

**Author's Note:**

> The idea for this one sprung upon me suddenly and I felt it had to be written down. I had another section planned which included some life in Belisaere, but it was mainly plotted from the point of view of Errigan's daughter, so I thought it made more narrative sense to keep this piece focused solely on him. Hopefully you enjoyed my little piece of 'worldbuilding', though I don't think it delved as deep as I would have liked into the possible issues male Clayr would face, nor their day to day lives. Damn Uni eating all my time! Hopefully I'll have time to write more about the subject at some point in the future :D Until then, thanks for reading!


End file.
